This invention relates to equipment for reading and recording information on cards having a magnetic track disposed thereon in general, and more particularly, to an improved type of equipment of this nature which is less susceptible to defects in the card.
Reading and recording equipment for reading or recording upon cards, such as conventional credit cards now in use, which contain thereon a magnetic strip, is known. Cards of this nature are used, for example, in banking transactions. These cards are also used for identifying purposes, for example, to permit access to secured areas.
In the equipment which is used with such cards, the cards are normally led past a reading head having one or more tracks by means of a transport device. Where a card with a magnetic data carrier is used, a particular danger exists that due to external influences such as dust, oil, geometric deformation of the card or the like, reliable reading and writing will not take place.
It is typical of most known equipment to transport the card by friction. A primary disadvantage of such a transport method is that, due to oil on the card, the transport through the reading head will not take place in a reliable manner so that information already existing thereon is not read correctly or that information which is to be recorded thereon is applied incorrectly.
One proposed solution to this problem is to accomplish the transport by using a movable carriage upon which the card is held fast. Although this overcomes the uncertainty associated with a friction drive, it is a poor solution because it is costly, requiring relatively complex mechanical means, particularly where large inertial forces occur because of a requirement for a short reading or writing time.